Dataset Information

Vestibulo-cortical hemispheric dominance: The link between anxiety and the vestibular system?

ABSTRACT: Vestibular processing and anxiety networks are functionally intertwined, as demonstrated by reports of reciprocal influences upon each other. Yet whether there is an underlying link between these two systems remains unknown. Previous findings have highlighted the involvement of hemispheric lateralisation in processing of both anxiety and vestibular signals. Accordingly, we explored the interaction between vestibular cortical processing and anxiety by assessing the relationship between anxiety levels and the degree of hemispheric lateralisation of vestibulo-cortical processing in 64 right-handed, healthy individuals. Vestibulo-cortical hemispheric lateralisation was determined by gaging the degree of caloric-induced nystagmus suppression following modulation of cortical excitability using trans-cranial direct current stimulation targeted over the posterior parietal cortex, an area implicated in the processing of vestibular signals. The degree of nystagmus suppression yields an objective biomarker, allowing the quantification of the degree of right vestibulo-cortical hemisphere dominance. Anxiety levels were quantified using the Trait component of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Questionnaire. Our findings demonstrate that the degree of an individual's vestibulo-cortical hemispheric dominance correlates with their anxiety levels. That is, those individuals with greater right hemispheric vestibulo-cortical dominance exhibited lower levels of anxiety. By extension, our results support the notion that hemispheric lateralisation determines an individual's emotional processing, thereby linking cortical circuits involved in processing anxiety and vestibular signals, respectively.

SUBMITTER: Bednarczuk NF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6099323 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Vestibulo-cortical hemispheric dominance: The link between anxiety and the vestibular system?

Bednarczuk Nadja F NF Casanovas Ortega Marta M Fluri Anne-Sophie AS Arshad Qadeer Q

The European journal of neuroscience 20180608 12

Vestibular processing and anxiety networks are functionally intertwined, as demonstrated by reports of reciprocal influences upon each other. Yet whether there is an underlying link between these two systems remains unknown. Previous findings have highlighted the involvement of hemispheric lateralisation in processing of both anxiety and vestibular signals. Accordingly, we explored the interaction between vestibular cortical processing and anxiety by assessing the relationship between anxiety le ...[more]

PMID: 29768682

Similar Datasets

Project description:PurposeLimited restoration of function is known to occur spontaneously after an ischemic injury to the primary motor cortex. Evidence suggests that Pre-Motor Areas (PMAs) may "take over" control of the disrupted functions. However, little is known about functional reorganizations in PMAs. Forelimb movements in mice can be driven by two cortical regions, Caudal and Rostral Forelimb Areas (CFA and RFA), generally accepted as primary motor and pre-motor cortex, respectively. Here, we examined longitudinal changes in functional coupling between the two RFAs following unilateral photothrombotic stroke in CFA (mm from Bregma: +0.5 anterior, +1.25 lateral).MethodsLocal field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from the RFAs of both hemispheres in freely moving injured and naïve mice. Neural signals were acquired at 9, 16 and 23 days after surgery (sub-acute period in stroke animals) through one bipolar electrode per hemisphere placed in the center of RFA, with a ground screw over the occipital bone. LFPs were pre-processed through an efficient method of artifact removal and analysed through: spectral,cross-correlation, mutual information and Granger causality analysis.ResultsSpectral analysis demonstrated an early decrease (day 9) in the alpha band power in both the RFAs. In the late sub-acute period (days 16 and 23), inter-hemispheric functional coupling was reduced in ischemic animals, as shown by a decrease in the cross-correlation and mutual information measures. Within the gamma and delta bands, correlation measures were already reduced at day 9. Granger analysis, used as a measure of the symmetry of the inter-hemispheric causal connectivity, showed a less balanced activity in the two RFAs after stroke, with more frequent oscillations of hemispheric dominance.ConclusionsThese results indicate robust electrophysiological changes in PMAs after stroke. Specifically, we found alterations in transcallosal connectivity, with reduced inter-hemispheric functional coupling and a fluctuating dominance pattern. These reorganizations may underlie vicariation of lost functions following stroke.

Dataset Information

Vestibulo-cortical hemispheric dominance: The link between anxiety and the vestibular system?

Publications

Vestibulo-cortical hemispheric dominance: The link between anxiety and the vestibular system?

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets